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Chapter 16: The Maiden's Shield
Marmota Mortar Bombardment | vehicles = None | officers = None | aces = Shuntr the Mount | ace drop = ZM SG 5(g) }} The Maiden's Shield (also dubbed "Operation Maiden's Shield") is the seventeenth chapter of Valkyria Chronicles. The combat mission in this Chapter is called Diverting the Marmota. Story The dark shadow that had plowed through the dense trees of Kloden Forest was Maximilian's newest weapon, the land-based battleship known as Marmota. Maximilian stood on the bridge ofthe dreadnought, his lips curled up in a smug smile. As Marmota continued its progress towards Randgriz, Maximilian received a report that Ghirlandaio had been destroyed, along with the Gallian army's main force. Maximilian's confidence was bolstered with the knowledge that Selvaria had done her duty, and that the Gallian army no longer had any way to hinder his progress. At Maximilian s orders, Marmota headed towards Randgriz at full speed. At the same time, the militia was busy building a plan around the information that their scouts had gathered regarding Marmota. It was decided that the militia would lure Marmota into the minefield in the valley north of Kloden Forest, while the Gallian Royal Guard defending Randgriz would hit Marmota with focused fire. In Randgriz Castle, Princess Cordelia had made the decision to take action in the defense of her country, but Prime Minister Borg locked her away in her room before she got the chance. It was Borg's plan to offer Cordelia up to the Imperial army in exchange for a position of political authority after the war. Topography Stuck inside of a deep canyon with the Marmota closing in from behind, the Gallian forces are essentially forced to move straight through into a series of enemy defenses. There are a few forks in the canyon system, but are impassable by the Gallian troops. However, these alternate paths must be blocked off to prevent the Marmota from avoiding the trap being placed by the Randgriz Royal Guard at the end of the canyon through Old Kloden Road. There are a number of Ragna-crates strategically placed throughout the canyon. Some of these crates are placed in positions that will cause a rock slide which will slow down the Marmota's approach, while others must be used to block off alternate paths. The Ragna-crates can be prepped for detonation by firing at them with pretty much any land weapon. After being prepped, they will detonate at the end of the turn and will trigger the short rock slide cinematic. Be careful to not leave any units in the direct path of the rock slides as they will be wiped out instantly. There is a large section in the middle of the canyon that is filled with anti-personnel and anti-tank landmines. Take care when moving through this area by having an engineer clear the anti-tank mines and have a tank roll through and detonate the anti-personnel mines. Landmarks and Street Names *North Kloden Woods *South Kloden Road *South Kloden Road First Garrison *South Kloden Road Second Garrison *Kloden Highway *Old Kloden Road We're about to commence Operation Maiden's Shield "We're about to commence Operation Maiden's Shield together with the Randgriz Royal Guard." "Squad 7 will begin the operation from this position. The Marmota will approach from the north end of the area, advancing southward at every turn. You'll head along this route, trying to direct its path. Your mission is to lead it to this location, where the Randgriz Royal Guard and a field full of mines await it. I repeat, your objective is to lure the Marmota to the specific destination." "Anyone or anything caught in the path of its advance will be out instantly. You'll have no chance to call for a medic. Plan your tactics carefully. I know you can do this without any casualties, Lieutenant." Mission objectives Victory *Marmota reaches the target point Failure *Marmota's course is not changed *Welkin dies "Letting the enemy past here means allowing them into the capital. That must be avoided at any cost. Good luck!" Strategy The task is to lead the Marmota into a trap, using a series of Ragnite bombs to slow it down by causing landslides. These will trigger at the end of the current turn, to give units a chance to get away, and mark their danger areas on the map. You need to shoot two pairs, each at one of the forks in the road; the first pair needs to be down by turn 3, and the second by turn 6. The gimmick of this level is instant death. Any unit run down by the Marmota or caught in a landslide is dead. No medic calls, no three turns, they die instantly. Obviously, this means that it's best to have as small a number of units as you can get away with in the field (Just the CP Characters). As ever, though, CP characters other than Welkin are immune to death and just "retreat." The S / A rank target is 8 turns; like the fight with Batomys, you'll be spending most of these waiting for Maximilian to do things and might well end up maxing out the CP bar. The key to getting the rank is recognizing two things: *You only need to shoot four of the Ragnite bombs; the two either side of the blanked-off road straight ahead, and the two either side of the road leading away from the goal flag. Destroying any others will slow the Marmota down too much to get you the top rank. *You only need to move the Edelweiss away from the Marmota; leave Zaka to figure out how to retreat from being crushed under sixteen thousand tons of mobile fortress, you don't need his CP anyway. There are exactly six enemies on the entire map; a Lancer and a Shocktrooper behind the walls on the east road, another Shocktrooper behind a small wall on the East side of the complex with the minefield, and a Lancer, Shocktrooper and the Ace Sniper Shuntr the Mount waiting at the destination. For the A rank, deploy only Alicia (if you haven't got the Splintered Horn medal yet, you can also deploy someone useless to get it, since it's guaranteed they'll get perma-killed here), and give Edelweiss the best accuracy parts you have (You can easily mount Bulletproof Visor, Periscope, Monocle Sight, Rotating Periscope and Firing Calculator for +60 accuracy). Run Alicia ahead and shoot the first two bombs, then go Southeast and kill the Shocktrooper through the gap in the wall, then kill or injure the Lancer; if you only injure him, place Alicia so she'll hit him with interception fire when he goes after the Edelweiss. Move the Edelweiss south. While Marmota might look scary, it largely ignores you; its only attacks are to fire a pair of weak machine guns if you're too close, and to set up a pair of mortar target zones each turn. There's no need to worry about it ever targeting Edelweiss' radiator. Assuming the Lancer is dead, move Alicia to the steel tank traps protecting the minefield and throw a grenade at one to make a path for the Edelweiss. While it might look like hiding Edelweiss in the blocked-off path will protect it from the Marmota as it turns, you'll find what Marmota is actually doing is deleting the upper map as it moves, not just running things over; anything North of it when it ends its move is dead, so you're going to have to move Edelweiss through the minefield. Clear a path through the anti-personnel mines while avoiding the anti-tank mines, and fire a mortar round or an MG burst at the Shocktrooper behind the wall. Turn West at the South wall and go for the clear exit rather than destroying the tank traps. Have Alicia follow the newly created path, watching for any mines Edelweiss missed, and destroy the other two bombs. Edelweiss can have some fun with all those accuracy parts, since it's entirely possible to kill all three remaining enemies with headshots from the main gun. If you have trouble with the Ace, drop a Smoke Grenade on his head and have Alicia sneak up behind him for the kill. The level ends the instant your turn eight starts if you're already on the objective marker. Rewards Aftermath Despite all the effort of the Gallian forces, Marmota casually passed through the minefield, unhindered by the mines and the Royal Guard's tank fire, while its own guns destroyed the Guard almost entirely. Everyone's hopes were instantly dashed, as they quickly became convinced that Marmota was invincible. Having made up her mind, Alicia walked out into Marmota's path, her body enveloped in the blue light of the Valkyria. Just as Selvaria had sacrificed her own life for the one she loved, Alicia was now prepared to offer up her life in exchange for those she held most dear. But Selvaria had also ensured that Alicia and her friends would not have to resort to the choice that she had. Leaping out of the tank, Welkin ran through numerous explosions, desperate to reach Alicia before it was too late. Despite being surrounded by heavy fire from Marmota, Alicia was able to damage the juggernaut with the power of her lance, and prepared to use her Final Flame. Welkin made it through all of the explosions to arrive by Alicia's side just in time to tell her how he really felt about her. Confessing his love for her, he asked Alicia to marry him by offering her a ring he had crafted out of the Lion's Paw flower. The moment the young lovers' hearts became one, the light of Alicia's Final Flame scattered into a shower of tiny lights that surrounded them in what appeared to be a beautiful blessing. The members of Squad 7 and tiler ran up to Welkin and Alicia, offering various words of congratulations. Realizing how close she had come to leaving her family forever, and overjoyed by the fact that she would live to be with them again, Alicia's eyes filled with tears. Though this was indeed a happy moment for Squad 7, they all knew the battle was not over yet. At Welkin's command, Squad 7 headed for Randgriz in pursuit of Marmota. Notes/Trivia Category:Article stubs Category:Valkyria Chronicles Category:Valkyria Chronicles Missions